SIPDE, Night Driving, Freeways, Distraction, Trailers and Winter: Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide and Execute, the Three-Second Rule and When to Stretch It, Stopping Distance and the 3/4-Second Reaction, Half of Fatal Crashes After Dark, Low Beams Within 1,000 and 200 Feet, Entering and Leaving the Freeway, Ramp Meters, Buses on the Shoulder, HOV Lanes, Interchanges and the Diverging Diamond, Stopping on a Freeway, Emergency Vehicles on the Shoulder, Caretaker Notes, Distraction Types and Illegal Behaviors, Aggressive Drivers, Obstructed Views, Projecting Loads, Towing Rules and Limits, Winter Driving, Rocking Free, Snow Emergencies, Snowplows, the Survival Kit and Being Stranded
Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Minnesota Class D knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.
Source: Minnesota Driver's Manual (DPS DVS, June 2026 edition), Chapter 6 "Driving conditions", "SIPDE" through "What to do if you become stranded" (pages 72–82).
SIPDE
The only eyes you can count on are your own, so experienced drivers use SIPDE: Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute. Scan aggressively ahead, to the sides and behind for oncoming traffic that may turn in front of you, cross traffic including bicycles and pedestrians, traffic from behind and hazardous road conditions, looking for escape routes near intersections, shops, schools and commercial zones. Identify hazards: moving vehicles and pedestrians, unpredictable children and animals, and stationary objects such as potholes, guard rails, bridges, signs, hedges and trees. Predict how their speed, distance and direction affect you; vehicles moving into your path matter most. Decide what you would do if the situation changed suddenly. Execute by communicating with lights or horn, adjusting speed, and adjusting position or direction.
Following distance and stopping
The three-second rule for standard-length vehicles in ideal conditions: pick a fixed point beside the road, start counting "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three" when the vehicle ahead passes it, and if you reach it before finishing, slow gradually to a safe gap. In poor conditions or a longer vehicle, use a four- or five-second count. If the vehicle behind is too close, slow slightly and let it pass. Stopping distance depends on the time to see and recognize danger, the roughly three-quarters of a second from perception to braking, the weather, the tread and the brakes.
Night driving
Nearly half of Minnesota's fatal crashes happen after dark despite lighter traffic. Study the route beforehand, make sure the lights work and the windshield is clean. Keep headlights on low beam within 1,000 feet of an oncoming vehicle and when following within 200 feet. Headlights go on from sunset to sunrise, in rain, snow, hail, sleet or fog, and whenever you cannot see 500 feet ahead; you should be able to stop within the distance your lights reach, no more than about 350 feet on high beam. If oncoming glare blinds you, steer by the white edge line; for glare from behind, use the day-night mirror or adjust your mirror.
Freeways
Freeways are divided, multi-lane roads with limited access and no cross traffic. Entry ramps are short one-way roads ending in an acceleration lane where you match freeway speed; you must yield to vehicles on the freeway, signal, pick a gap in the nearest lane and merge when safe, never stopping on the ramp or acceleration lane unless absolutely necessary; where there is no acceleration lane and a Yield sign, obey it and stop if needed. Ramp meters about halfway down metropolitan entry ramps run in peak hours; running the red is illegal and one car goes per green. Keep pace with traffic without exceeding the limit, stay in the right lane if slower, and signal and check before changing lanes to pass or exit. Transit and Metro Mobility buses may use the shoulder only when mainline traffic is under 35 mph, no more than 15 mph faster than traffic and never over 35 mph, yielding to merging, entering and exiting traffic. Message signs warn of crashes, stalls and conditions and carry AMBER Alert vehicle descriptions. HOV lanes are for motorcycles, buses and vehicles with two or more people. Interchanges (cloverleaf, diamond, folded diamond, diverging diamond) connect roads by ramps; in a diverging diamond the lanes cross at each end of the bridge so you veer left for access instead of turning across opposing traffic, cutting conflict points, spreading them out, lengthening sight lines, making wrong-way entry very hard, shortening pedestrian crossings (who walk between the lanes behind barriers) and reducing delays up to 60 percent.
Stopping or parking on an interstate is illegal except in an emergency, and running out of fuel is not one. If you must stop, park on the shoulder as far from traffic as possible, open the trunk and raise the hood or tie a white cloth to the antenna or door handle, use the hazard lights, place flares or reflectors 100 to 500 feet behind on the right edge, and stay with the vehicle; walking on the traveled roadway is illegal and deadly. Backing up or turning around on a freeway is illegal except for emergency and repair vehicles. For an emergency vehicle stopped on the shoulder, move a lane away if safe or slow down; for one approaching with lights and siren, signal, move to the nearest side and stop without braking hard or swerving, stay until it has fully passed and check for others following; keep at least 500 feet behind any fire truck. Know your exit in advance, signal and move into the deceleration lane when safe to slow before the ramp, and if you miss it go on to the next one rather than backing or U-turning. Your DVS record can note that you are a caretaker so officers can check on dependents after a crash.
Crashes, distraction and aggression
After an injury crash stay put and call 911 or the nearest agency; after a property-damage crash move to a safe spot before getting out, exchange license and insurance information, note the other plates and perhaps VINs, and call police if needed. Driver distraction causes at least 25 percent of Minnesota crashes. Distraction is visual (eyes off the road), mechanical (hands off the wheel) or cognitive (lost in thought), and includes phones, GPS, reaching, eating, the radio, passengers, maps, staring at crash scenes and daydreaming. Illegal behaviors: texting, emailing or using the internet while driving, even stopped in traffic; any phone use, handheld or hands-free, by drivers under 18 with a permit or provisional license except calling 911; and wearing headphones or earphones in both ears. Aggressive drivers show little concern for others, drive faster than traffic, tailgate, change lanes abruptly without signaling, pass on the shoulder and glare or threaten; if that is you, work at staying calm, and if you meet one, do not challenge them, stay clear, avoid eye contact and do not let it escalate.
Loads and trailers
It is illegal to drive with a load, or more than three people in the front seat, that blocks your view or your control. A load may not project more than three feet in front of the front wheels or bumper; one extending four feet or more behind needs a red, yellow or orange flag at least 16 inches square by day and a red lamp visible from 500 feet at night; passenger vehicles may not carry loads beyond the left fender line or more than six inches beyond the right. Towing a camper or trailer you must keep at least 500 feet behind other vehicles; balance 10 to 15 percent of the trailer's weight on the hitch with the floor level, check the hitch, tires, lights and load after the first few miles and at every rest stop, drive slower since small trailer wheels overheat, remember your brakes were not built for the load and a sudden high-speed stop can flip both, accelerate carefully with a lower gear, allow for the trailer's length and reduced acceleration when passing, slow more in wind and rain, swing wide on turns, and watch engine temperature. Trailer limits: 45 feet long, 8 feet 6 inches wide, 13 feet 6 inches high, two red taillights, two red reflectors, one white plate lamp, stop and turn signals at night or when the towing vehicle's are hidden, brakes on any trailer of 3,000 pounds or more, a visible registration plate and a permanently attached safety chain; motor homes may be up to 45 feet and single-unit vehicles generally 40. A recreational vehicle combination (a pickup or recreational truck-tractor with a camper trailer and possibly a second trailer for boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, golf carts or horse gear) requires a driver at least 18, a tow rating at least equal to the towed weight, a total length no more than 70 feet, and is barred from the Twin Cities metro 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
Winter driving
Clear snow and ice from the hood, windows and lights, use washer fluid with antifreeze, test the brakes at low speed to feel the road, match speed to conditions and avoid cruise control on slippery roads. If stuck, rock the vehicle: wheels straight, drive slowly forward, then back, as far as possible without spinning, accelerate gently when the tires grip, and if it slides or spins, brake and repeat the other way. Obey snow emergency parking rules to avoid towing and fines. Snowplows flash white, yellow and blue lights; never crowd one, pass only when you can see the whole plow, stay well back from flying sand, snow and ice, expect whiteout clouds that hide the road, and give slow-moving plows that may back up in neighborhoods room to work. Carry a winter survival kit: shovel, sand or salt, warm clothing and footwear, a red flag for the antenna, blanket or sleeping bag, quick-energy food, water and a waste container, tow and tire chains, flares or reflectors, jumper cables, candles and matches or a lighter, and a first aid kit. If stranded in the cold, stay with the vehicle, since most deaths come from leaving it and getting lost; turn on the hazards, tie a red flag to the antenna or door, set out flags and flares, bring supplies in from the trunk, keep the exhaust pipe clear of snow, run the engine and heater until warm and then off, about 10 minutes each hour, keep a window slightly open against carbon monoxide, and keep at least one person awake.
Practise this with Minnesota Driver License questions
More of this guide
Who needs a Minnesota license and the 60-day rule, identification, Driver's License for All, REAL ID and enhanced cards, the written test, the 20/40 and 105-degree vision standards, the road test and its instant failures, the instruction permit and provisional license with their night and passenger limits, Vanessa's Law, the under-21 license, farm, medical and moped licenses at 15, license classes and renewal.
Required equipment and headlight rules, tire pressure and the penny test, window tint, the basic speed law and default limits, the 10 mph passing allowance, signaling 100 feet, blind spots, left and right turns, turning on red, roundabouts, J-turns, divided highways, U-turns, right-lane travel, passing rules and the 700-foot sight line, backing, and every parking rule.
Who must buckle up and the exemptions, rear-facing until two and boosters to nine, children under 13 in back, unattended children and pets, airbags, littering, duties after a crash and the 72-hour rule, no-fault insurance and its penalties, registering within 60 days, the texting ban, and suspension, revocation, limited licenses and cancellation.
Where you must come to a complete stop, school bus yellow lights at 100 and 300 feet, stopping 20 feet from red lights and the $500 penalty, safety patrols and crossing guards, who yields at intersections, transit buses, funeral processions, pulling over for sirens, the Move Over law, careless and reckless driving, how to behave when police stop you, fleeing penalties and pedestrian rules.
Bike lanes, the three-foot pass across the center line, bicycle laws and hand signals, mopeds, following and crowding motorcycles, lane splitting at 25 mph and lane filtering, vulnerable road users, neighborhood electric vehicles, passing and following trucks, the No Zones, crossing devices and the 10-foot rule, second trains, the ENS sign, work zone fines and the zipper merge.
Sign colors and shapes, regulatory signs from Stop to Center Lane Left-Turn Only, warning signs including railroad, school, slow-moving vehicle and intersection signs, construction signs and the $300 fine, route markers, every signal light and arrow, gridlock, pedestrian signals, lane-use control signals, ramp meters, white and yellow lines, turn, center, reversible and carpool lanes and traffic officers.
Staying alert every 100 miles or two hours, handling a skid, anti-lock brakes, rain and fog, hydroplaning at 35 mph, never coasting downhill, blowouts, steering and brake failure, running off the pavement, deer from dusk to dawn, a vehicle in your lane, stalling on the tracks, flooded roads, plunging under water, fire, overheating, a stuck gas pedal, utility poles and carbon monoxide.
Alcohol in a third of road deaths, drugs and household products, how alcohol attacks judgment, vision and reaction, standard drinks and proof, one drink per hour, the 0.08 and 0.04 limits, implied consent and refusal, first, second and third offense penalties, the ignition interlock and 0.02, felony DWI, the under-21 no-tolerance rule, commercial drivers, cannabis and open container laws.